Part of that is by incentivizing care providers to keep their patients healthy, said Dr. David Halsey, board chairman of the Jackson Health Network.

“We are going to reward people on wellness and how healthy their patients are,” Halsey said at Allegiance Health Foundation’s Breakfast for Business event at the Cascades Manor House. “You need the whole community to make people healthy.”

Halsey talked about the concept of a clinically integrated network, which is a legal entity where physicians and hospitals work together as a company, overcome anti-trust issues and reward patient wellness.

Local businesses and employees can benefit from having a system such as this, Halsey said. Those benefits include a healthier workforce and a more efficient and cost-effective delivery of care, he said.

The per capita cost of health care needs to be managed to help the U.S. economy, Allegiance Health President and CEO Georgia Fojtasek said.

“It’s affecting our own economic survival,” she said. “It’s important that we understand the value of health insurance.”

Other highlights from the Breakfast for Business event:

Peter Pratt, president of Public Sector Consultants in Lansing, spoke about the Affordable Care Act and how health-care reform impacts area businesses and the community at large.

A video was presented featuring Dr. Michael Klinkman, medical director of the Jackson Health Network. In the video, Klinkman talked about his vision to promote a person-centered health community in Jackson.